Manhattan's Here
by Raggazzed12
Summary: Micky hasn't been back to Manhattan in a while. And when he comes back, he doesn't find anything comforting. *Sequel to "So's the Bronx".*
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Author's Note: Oh boy, a sequel! I really hope this works. I wanted to write this because I think it'll be fun...hopefully. I know that sequels don't work all of the time, but this one will because it's Micky and Crutchy, and that means that I will make it work because both of these guys are awesome. (In case you haven't noticed.) So, if you haven't read "So's the Bronx", get off of this, search for it, and read it, before you read this if you want to know a bit about Micky and maybe a bit about my idea of Crutchy's former life. You don't have to, but a few things might make sense if you do. Anyway, this is to please you guys, so onto chapter one!

I hadn't given much thought to Manhattan since last summer. That was a while ago, and I have only been twice since then. I guess it's kinda dumb that I haven't, but, see, Checkers was demanding that I worked a lot more now that I could walk. Maybe he just felt like since I had gotten much more money off of my leg when it hadn't worked that now I would have to live up to that same amount. Which sucks for me because now I'm not that good at it. I'm only 14 years old.

So when Checkers said that he was going to let me have a day off to go to Manhattan, I could've cried and told him how much I had needed this. But I hadn't known why; he said to wait until I got there. I was just glad I could go. I would go alone, being as I was the only one who Checkers had said would go. He wasn't even going.

So as I walked through the streets on my way to the bridge where I would have to cross over to get back, I didn't think about why I was going this way. All I could think was how happy I'd be to see the Manhattan newsies again. I hadn't talked to Crutchy in forever.

When I finally made it to Manhattan and all the way to the newsies' square, it was about 3 in the afternoon. There had been some traffic. Ironically, here, where all the newsies were, there seemed to be more traffic than on the road. I pushed my way through them, getting greeted with shouts of "Hey Micky!" and "How's it goin'?" and I eventually found Blink. He was near the restaurant door. I didn't notice his tired expression at first, but I soon realized it.

"Hiya Micky. You heah for a visit?" he asked.

"Yeah. What's goin' on? What's wid all dis traffic?" I replied.

"Dey are all jus' waitin' for afternoon papes. An'..." he trailed off.

"What's da mattah, Blink?" I asked him, wondering why he was so tired and worried looking.

"Let's ge' some food an' I'll tell youse aftah." was the reply.

We ate food and then Blink took me to the lodging house. I didn't know why he wasn't selling, but I didn't know about anything that went on here. He turned and faced me. I felt my stomach drop when I saw his expression of pain and worry. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I couldn't. He seemed to read my mind because he answered that question a second later.

"Micky, I heard dat Checkers sent ya heah, I made 'im do it. It's 'bout Crutchy." he said. I wondered what on earth was wrong. "He got ... he got sick."

"What...?" I asked, wondering what he meant.

"Dat's what I said. He be sick. Polio or someting like dat." he replied. I looked at him, not believing it.

"Nah, no, it ain't true, is it?" I asked frantically. He nodded. Not polio. Of all things, why did it have to be polio.

I felt my body go numb. It wasn't true. He wasn't sick, not now, Crutchy wasn't sick, he couldn't be. I had hoped to see him as I knew him, happy and awake, and not in a bed, even though last time I was here, we had both been injured. But now, now he couldn't be.

Blink watched as I took in this information, obviously depressed. I didn't know what to do. Crutchy had always been the one I looked up to. Now he was in trouble. Serious trouble.

"He be in heah. I ain't gonna argue if ya wanna stay tonight. Even a week wid us would be fine. I need da company." said Blink, and I nodded, still numb.

We headed in. He took me to his room, where the both of him and Crutchy had lived in for a long time. I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to be in here. But when we walked in, and I saw Crutchy on the bed, I knew I needed to be in here. I had to be.

He was pale and sweaty looking. I had never seen him so weak looking before, he looked even skinnier than ever. I didn't avert my eyes as we approached the bed. He was awake, and looked up at me. I smiled at him, but it was weak and small and I knew he didn't care. He smiled back, kind of.

"Hey Crutch, we's brought Micky in finally." said Blink gently. I didn't ignore the fact that he was looking close to tears.

"Hiya Micky." Crutchy said to me, and I had to crack another smile.

"Hi Crutchy." I replied. At least he could talk. I didn't know what else to think. This was bad.

Blink was merely trying to think elsewhere. I knew he was. The lost look on his face told me that he was depressed and trying to find a way out of it. Crutchy was really too sick to register anything I guess, but I knew as well as he did that he wasn't in a good position.

"Da youse need anytin'?" asked Blink.

"Water." was all Crutchy said, and Blink nodded and went to get a cup, leaving me and Crutchy alone.

"So...dis is what's been goin' on heah." I said.

"Yeah...I suppose ...suppose so." he replied.

"Remember how I feared running? Well, it ain't dat bad, I be good at it now."

"Dat's good."

"Ya know, I don't tink it was fair for me ta stay away all dat time. I be sorry 'bout dat, I jus' didn't find da time."

"Nah...it's ok-okay."

"I jus' wasn' aware of dis." I replied, looking at him.

I knew he wasn't trying to think about the pain he was going through, so I didn't try to ask him any questions about when it had started. Blink would have to answer those.

"Has da doctor been in heah?" I asked him.

"Once. Only...only once. He ain't...ain't in heah much."

"So youse been alone a lot?"

"Nah. Blink...Blink stays in heah...wid me." he answered, and he looked at me in that moment. I could only see weakness and pain.

I wanted to know so many things, but I couldn't ask him them now. I would just have to wait till Blink could or maybe if Crutchy made it. I didn't like that if. It was stupid. Sickness isn't fair. I don't get it. So when Blink walked in again, with the cup of water, I knew in that moment that I needed to do something for Crutchy. I had to. He was my friend, I couldn't let him down, and I wasn't going to do so now. Not yet. He wasn't going anywhere yet.

Author's Note: There's chapter one. Oh man, I don't know where I come up with these things. *sadness*. It was a good chapter though, wasn't it, for a sequel, I think this is going somewhere. Please tell me if that's true. I don't want to ruin the other story, so I'm shooting for something almost as good with this. Please review, and I will take any suggestions from anyone if I can, because I might need some help with the outcome of this story. So thank you and review and give me suggestions, and just tell me if it was good or not. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Author's Note: Chapter two. Oh boy, I didn't think I would even make it this far. Thank you to Percyjacksonfangirl11 for reviewing, I am glad that you like the idea of a sequel. Well, onto the chapter, because I hope you enjoyed the last one. This one's pretty sad as well, and is longer, I promise. Onto the chapter!

I soon gave Blink a confused look, and somehow he got the message. I don't think Crutchy, at that moment, cared if we walked away. Blink took me into the bigger room and we sat on beds opposite of each other. I started to question him.

"What- when did dis happen?" I asked him.

"Dere was...it happened a week 'go. He wasn't actin' like himself, he didn't complain, dat's parta it. It wasn't 'till da day he couldn't get outta bed widout tellin' me he was sick feelin' an' he had a fevah." explained Blink. "Den he jus' got...got worse. Da doc said it was polio or sometin'. I...I ain't happy, Micky. Dis can't happen. It jus' ain't, it ain't."

He looked at me, and I could tell he didn't want to believe it. Nether did I, but I can't say that I needed to. The proof was right there, in that room, it was Crutchy himself.

"Dat's it, eh?" I said.

"Yeah. Dat's it. Now look, don't youse go do notin' dat ain't worth it. I nose youse Micky, ya would do anyin' ta help ya friends. Don't try."

"Blink, dis ain't a battle we can lose. I ain't gonna let us."

"But dat's jus' it. I ain't need no help, Is ain't want any help." he said, fiercely, looking at me. "He's bad 'nough as it is, an' I don't need no doc tellin' me dat he ain't gotta cha..."

The word died. Blink was suddenly in tears for about the 3rd time that I'd ever seen him. I moved over to him, and put my arm on his shoulder. He didn't resist. I mean, he was the one crying out of his right eye only. But I was pretty close to crying.

"Let's get back dere." I said. We walked back to Crutchy, who was staring at the roof of his bunk.

Blink clearly didn't want Crutchy to see him crying, so he went into the bathroom. I sat down next to Crutchy. He looked at me, and I could only see the weakness and pain in his face. When Blink returned, he said that he had to go sell, and left. I figured it was the fact that he needed fresh air after crying and that he had to get more money. Crutchy spoke.

"Youse ain't...ain't gonna sell, are...are ya?" he asked, clearly wanting company.

"Nah, I ain't. Dis ain't da Bronx."

"Good. I don't like...like ta be alone. Den I think...think 'bout what...what could happen ta me. It ain't pretty is...is it?" he said. I didn't reply. "I ain't...ain't nevah been...ben dis way. Normally it's sometin' like...like minor. Dis ...dis ain't minor."

"Youse are gonna be alright." I said, suddenly no longer holding it in. I wanted to convince myself that.

When he began to cough, it racked his body, and I could almost see his ribs against his shirt. This was bad. The coughs went on for a while. They made his whole body move. I watched, wondering how anything could be this horrible. It was more like pneumonia than polio in my opinion. But whatever it was, it was killing Crutchy.

Afterwards, he remained silent. I didn't know what to say or do. But when he began to speak, I realized just how much he wanted company.

"Youse know...I-I don't wanna die. Bu' everyone...dey all...dey seem ta be aware o-of what could happen. Is...Is am too, but...but it ain't...ain't comforting." he said, not looking at me. "Dere were...were times in my...my life dat I, I thought I...I wouldn't make it. Dis is too...too real."

"Stop it, youse ain't gonna die." I said. "Don't youse say dat."

"But dat's what...what it looks like. I be scared, Micky. Is ain't even...even 17 yet, even though...though I will be...be soon. It ain't...ain't fair." he said, and when I saw the fear in his eyes, I wondered how a person so optimistic normally had become the exact opposite.

"Youse are gonna make it, Crutchy. I ain't come all dis way ta watch dis happen ta youse." I said.

He only looked away. I looked down at the floor. On the floor near the bed, his crutch was lying unused and looking forgotten. I nearly burst into tears at the sight of it. It made me realize just how bad off Crutchy was if he couldn't even get up. I didn't know what to do. I felt helpless. I knew he needed my company, and was obviously glad to see me, but I also knew that he was in a bad situation.

I remembered those happenings that had occurred during the last time I was in Manhattan for longer than a day. It had been strange, wonderful, painful, and everything else that I could think of. And it had ended okay. But what about now? Would this trip end nicely or worse? I didn't know, I didn't want to.

"Micky?" said Crutchy after a while.

"Yeah?"

"What's gonna...gonna happen?"

"Is wish I knew."

"So do I. Bu'...bu' dis ain't, it...it ain't gonna go well, I don't tink."

"Of course it will, youse ain't gonna go nowhere." I replied firmly. Crutchy only looked away and sighed, and ended up coughing again like he had before in that horrible way.

I didn't watch. It was too horrible. He was not going to do well unless something happened that saved him. But what could?

After what seemed like ages of talking on and off with him, Blink came back. He wasn't alone, though. Racetrack came with him, and I couldn't deny the fact that both of them looked equally worried.

"Hey Crutchy. Has Micky heah been keepin' youse straight?" asked Blink.

"Yeah, shore. An' youse ain't ...ain't bein' kept...kept straight by dis...dis guy." replied Crutchy, nodding towards Race.

"Ah, don't youse bring me inta it." said Race, jokingly.

Crutchy cracked a smile, and for a moment or two, we all were smiling slightly. Then he began to cough again. Blink looked extremely worried at this and sat down next to Crutchy's feet. Race remained standing, but I still could see his expression, which was subdued and not at all happy like Race normally was.

I felt my anger surge. Why was Crutchy suffering like this? Why couldn't it be me? I would rather it be so. But I couldn't say that in front of him, or he'd probably tell me that I didn't need to be sick and didn't want to be in place of himself.

I wondered if it had rained a lot, or if the Delancy brothers had beat him up again, because I could see no other way to get this kind of disease. But I didn't know, because Blink hadn't clarified it. Nonetheless, Crutchy was sick, and I wanted to help him any way I could. I wondered if someone would pay for a major doctor visit and the hospital. They probably wouldn't, as I didn't think Kloppman has any friends that would help him in this case again.

Race was told by Blink to go tell the others that the door was open to them all if they wanted. I guess there was a certain time of day in which the other newsies could come in as they pleased.

The first one in that I recognized was Mush. He was about Blink's age, and as he entered, he didn't look at anyone but Crutchy. I guess it was the hardest on the newsies of Manhattan. He only talked a little bit to us, and I could see the worry in his eyes.

"Had a good sellin' today. Youse shoulda seen it." he said, more to Crutchy than the rest of us.

"Dat's good." was all Crutchy said. Mush then talked selling matters over with Blink, and eventually left.

Newsies came and went throughout the next 15 minutes. Then Blink took me to find a bed. There was an open one near a window, and he told me that it was mine for as long as I was here. I only nodded, and sat on the edge of it, thinking. The newsie above me, whose name was Bumlets, was just as silent as I was. I guess he was either thinking about selling or Crutchy. Every newsie here were thinking about those two things, or so it seemed. I guess it was pretty hard on all of them.

I didn't fall asleep for a while. The picture in my mind of the crutch lying next to Crutchy's bed kept me awake, wondering if it ever would be used again or would be alone and forgotten forever.

Author's Note: There is chapter two. Pretty dramatic, I daresay. It's kind of amazing to me that I've done this to a character, I mean, to Crutchy of all people. But I think it's needed for what's going to happen later on. I hope you have enjoyed it, and please review, review, review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Author's Note: Okay, here I am again, with chapter three. Percyjacksonfangirl11, thank you for the review, and yeah, I know, I'm kinda scared about this as well. TeamJacob1998: thank you as well, and yeah, I know that if I killed off Crutchy, I would get a lot of angry reviews, and I don't like killing him, but I'm not writing this down, so I really don't know what's going to happen. What I am trying not to do is not to kill Crutchy, and I hope not to, but I don't know what's going to happen. Okay, let's get to the chapter and see what happens!

When I awoke in the morning, I had nothing on my mind until I heard a scream. I didn't know where it had come from. It sounded like it had come from outside. I looked out the window, and there, lo and behold, were the Delancy brothers holding the arms of a newsie, who happened to be known to me, his name was Flip. He normally seemed to be stronger than that, but I guess Oscar and Morris had caught him unaware and not awake.

Bumlets, who as I said was above me, jumped down and started to run out when Blink appeared, looking half-asleep, and glaring out of his one eye. The other one wasn't covered because apparently he had moved too fast to put it on. The left one, which was his bad one, was hazy and blue, but dim. He didn't register this and was out of the room fast.

I followed close behind after throwing on a shirt and pants and found Blink yelling at Oscar and Morris to let Flip go or he'd fight them.

"So, whatcha gonna do about it?" asked Oscar, sneering.

"Jus' let him go or I ain't gonna let youse go!" yelled Blink.

"Poor newsie forgot his eyepatch, what's he gonna do now?" mocked Morris. Blink, who was pretty much the same height as the both of them, snarled and pushed up his sleeve.

"Let 'im go!" he said in reply. Flip was watching with wide eyes, still being held by his arms.

They didn't obey. I was next to Blink, and so was Bumlets and Race in about a second. I guess they didn't want to let Blink fight alone, not with the state he was in. Oscar and Morris let go of Flip, then advanced on Blink. Only a few other newsies joined before there was a full fight going on. I was punching and kicking as much as I could at Oscar. When we finally got them away, they ran. Blink approached Flip.

"Why did dey do dis ta youse?" he asked the other boy.

"Dey were askin' me 'bout weder I would sell taday an' where...where dere favorite gimp was, an' why dey ain't 'llowed inta dere ta address mattahs wid him." replied Flip, as fast as he could, gulping at some points.

"Wait, wait, slow down. Dey wanted ta talk 'bout what mattahs wid Crutchy?" asked Race, looking confused.

"I dunno, 'parently dey beat 'im up 'cause of sometin' da oder day, I dunno why. I didn't answer, I couldn't, dey were twistin' me arm back." was the answer from Flip.

"Dat migh' be parta it." Race said to Blink, but we could all hear it. I knew that they had been trying to get reasons why Crutchy had become so sick.

Blink nodded. His untidy hair only told me the fact that clearly, he had gotten out of bed as fast as he could and thrown on some clothing, and not bothered with his eyepatch. We walked back in, with Flip, silently.

There was the sound of newsies putting on their clothing all over the room and talking, though it wasn't very loud. I finished dressing and went to Blink's room, knocking on the door. I didn't know if I should sell today, but I decided that if I did, I would take Crutchy's place so that some people got their papes.

"Come in." said Blink. I walked in.

Crutchy was asleep, Blink was in the bathroom. I waited for a bit, wondering how on earth Crutchy could be so pale and weak looking even in his sleep.

When Blink finally came out, he asked me what I wanted.

"I be sellin' today. I'll take Crutchy's spot, I ain't got nothin' ta lose." I explained, having made up my mind.

"Tanks, we'se needed da help wid dat spot." he said, and I wondered why he'd suddenly admitted to needing help, but I only nodded in reply and went out into the room, and then outside.

Plenty of newsies were already out there, talking and doing the normal amount of trying to punch each other and poke each other with sticks. But there was a subdued amount of all of that as well, and I knew that it had something to do with Crutchy's absence. Racetrack was right next to me before I knew it. He had that look on his face that only too clearly said that he was in a mischievous mood and would want money to borrow from me.

"Say, youse got a nickel?" he asked me. I gave him a look.

"I ain't gonna give youse money unless ya pay me back." I replied. He, in turn, gave me a look.

"Don' youse get smaht wid me."

"Race, I ain't gonna give youse money 'cause I heard 'bout da money ya don't pay back noone." as I said this, I noticed that a crowd had begun to form around us.

"Yeah, what 'bout dat? I ain't gonna pay youse back even if I promised ya 'cause I ain't dealin' wid noone who gets smaht mouthed wid me."

"Ask someone else if ya want." I said, and Race rolled his eyes, but finally gave up, and it was that moment when he saw the crowd of newsies around us.

"Get outta heah unless ya wanna have a bloody nose." he said, and the crowd laughed and began to move away.

I went to get papes and when I finally got out of that messy, mob-crowded distribution center, I made my way to the corner on Central Park where Crutchy normally sold. It was strange not having him next to me there. I began to scream headlines and move back and forth, catching people, and selling papes to them. I didn't see any familiar faces for a while.

Some people appeared to be regulars, but very few, aside from a relieved look at getting their papes here at their familiar corner, didn't ask where the normal guys was. I guess I was a little bit surprised at that. Finally, I saw people who I knew. It was the Downing family. Their father, who had been a newsie once as Crutchy and I had found out last summer, was at the lead. The kids were following behind.

I noticed that the youngest boy, Jerry, seemed more grown-up even though he was only a year older, the youngest girl, Liz, almost seemed to be stepping in rhythm with Isabella, the oldest girl, and Mark and Tom were more...grown up as well. I guess that I hadn't seen them in such a long time so I wasn't used to them being older than last year. The father spotted, at long distance, me, and made his way towards the corner with the others following behind. They finally came up to me, and I guess it was a shock for them to see me.

"Hey, you're back!" said Jerry. I didn't know why he sounded so excited, the last time I had gotten on the wrong side of this family, he had been a very supportive member of the offensive side of the court case. But I guess seeing me was a change.

"Yeah, why, and what happened to Crutchy?" asked Liz.

"Is came down from da Bronx again." I replied, only answering one question.

"Good for you. Now what happened to Crutchy,? He hasn't been here for a while. What happened?" asked Mr. Downing.

"Well...he's...he be sick. Polio, or sometin' like dat. He ain't doin' so well. I don't nose what's gonna happen ta him. Dat's why I be heah in Manhattan." I answered, breathing in. I could feel my stomach drop.

"Like how sick?" asked Isabella.

"Like really sick, Is don't know, I ain't a doc or sometin'. But it ain't pretty, he's all pale an' coughin' an' tings like dat." I said. The family was silent for a bit. I knew they were shocked at the news.

"So like pneumonia or something?" asked Mr. Downing. I nodded. I still don't know why he was so concerned. He seemed to be worried.

"What's it mattah ta youse?" I had to ask.

"Well, I know a deadly disease when I see or hear of one. I am a doctor, you know."

"You are?!" I asked him, now really shocked.

"Yeah, I am. I know a good bit about this stuff. Here's my card, you know where to find me now, and I promise you, you need to trust me." he said. I started to take it, then remembered Blink's decision on how he wasn't going to trust nobody anymore on this case.

"Mister, I ain't gonna be able ta do dis, see, Blink don't want no help." I explained.

"No, take it, you need to. Stop by if you want, call me down, I know where that old lodging house is and can find it on my own if you don't." he forcefully but kindly said. I finally gave in.

"Alrigh', I will. See youse all latah." I told them, and they said goodbye and left.

Now I had to get this card in the lodging house without Blink's knowing. This would be easy, but not without him knowing that they'd stopped by because I knew he was staying at the lodging house today. I decided to do it against all odds and prepared my plan for that evening.

Author's Note: There you go, the next chapter will be up before you know it. Probably today, I hope. Thank you, and please review, review, review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Author's Note: Here I am again, yes, that's right, two chapters in one day. I think I'm excited to see what happens with the now proclaimed "Dr. Downing", and anyone who read the last chapter probably is as well. So let's get on with it!

After making the plan, I needed to go through with it. At about 4 in the afternoon, I sold my last paper, somehow, and made my way to the residence in which I would find Mr. Downing, or Dr. Downing, depending on how you see it.

After finding the address and finding that they lived in a very large house, I knocked on the door knocker, old school, but I found it fascinating. A butler answered, and asked me who I was and to state my business.

"I be Micky, an' I'm heah ta get Mr. Downing for a medical case dat he said he'd attend ta." I explained. The butler nodded and went to tell Mr. Downing.

When the man spoken of before appeared, he looked quite pleased that I had gotten his attention on this so early. The kids appeared as well, and listened to the conversation between me and their father.

"Is gonna tell youse ta follow me. I ain't lettin' youse in at first 'cause I gotta make shore Blink ain't dere or ain't gonna blow up on me." I told him.

"Very good. I will go get my bag and we will be off." he said, and ran to get it. When he returned, the other kids looked up at him.

"Can we go too, daddy?" asked Jerry.

"Is it okay if they go? I mean, I let them go on some of my adventures, but if this isn't kid safe for Jerry and Liz..." he asked me.

"Is suppose dey can go. Bu' it ain't pretty, Is already told ya so, so don't expect nothin' nice." I gave in, almost scared of what would happen if they went, but giving in because I knew that they could behave themselves.

"I'll stay if you don't want me to go." said Liz, looking almost alarmed at the idea of seeing this.

"No, it'll be a learning experience for you all. Maybe you'll want to follow me in my profession after seeing a few cases." replied Mr. Downing, looking at her. Isabella looked alarmed as well.

"But father, I don't want to see anything..." she trailed off.

"Don't be afraid, Isabella, I'm telling you, it's good to see these things early on, so you get a grasp on it." was her father's reply. I waited until both girls were finally convinced to go; Jerry, Mark, and Tom didn't mind, they seemed to want to see something drastic.

"Follow me." I said, and so they did.

We walked all the way around newsies square so none of the other newsies got suspicious, and then made our way to the lodging house. I instructed the family to act normally as if they had just stopped there, which worked well because Jerry wanted to look at a sign across the way. Then I went in.

When I reached Blink's bedroom, I didn't bother to knock. Crutchy was awake, Blink was nowhere to be found. I walked up to Crutchy, trying to ignore his pale skin and feverish face.

"Where's Blink?" I asked him.

"He went...went ta...ta sell a few...few more papes an' den...den eat wid da oders." was Crutchy's painful reply. I nodded. I knew words tired him, but I needed to tell him what was going on.

"Is told Mr. Downing ta come down 'cause he be a doc, an' da kids are wid him. Youse okay wid dat, right?" I asked him, and his only reply was a very slight nod.

I went to get them, worried for Crutchy and scared of what the family would do when they went in. They followed me through the rooms; Mr. Downing had a face of only what could be called a nostalgic moment face, as I called it. Then we arrived at the doorway to the small room, and I told them not to speak until I told them they could, which I warned them wouldn't happen for a while.

In we went, and Crutchy only looked at me and the people behind me. I wondered if he'd recognize them at all. He did, though, with only a slight nod of the head, which I knew was an acknowledgment that they were there and that he knew them. But they didn't speak, they seemed too shocked to talk.

"Heya Crutchy, heah dey are." I said. He once again only nodded, and smiled slightly.

Mr. Downing was watching with pain on his face, clearly sad and as if he was remembering something else from his past. Jerry was staring, as were the rest of his siblings. The girls had looks of pain on their faces, the boys looked almost fascinated with the idea.

"So, what happened and how?" asked Mr. Downing after a while of silence.

"Is don't know dat well. Wes don't really have a clue. He ain't gonna tell ya, dat I know." I replied.

"What symptoms?"

"Well, coughin', mostly a fevah, an' seems ta be sick in da leg joints too." I said, as I had noticed that his bad leg was turned in farther than normal and the other one seemed to be fighting to stay normal.

"Dat's true...true 'nough." said Crutchy, staring at the roof of his bunk. "Both legs hu-hurt, an' ...an' dat's not...not normal."

"Sounds like polio, but I don't know about the coughing exactly. Tuberculosis or pneumonia, maybe. But I'm not terribly sure." said Mr. Downing in a rather confused voice. "Did it rain? Or did someone weaken you and then it rained?"

"Dat's...dat's close. Bu' I ...I ain't..." Crutchy trailed off, and I saw a tear go down his cheek. I suddenly wondered if something horrible had happened.

"You don't have to explain it to me. But that's about all I can guess." replied Mr. Downing. Crutchy replied in the form of another coughing fit.

The fit went on for a while. I didn't think it would ever end, it just kept on, racking his whole body and making him look weaker and paler than before. Mr. Downing was watching, and I could see his eyes looked sad, and his mind seemed to be trying to search for whatever this was. There was silence after Crutchy finally stopped coughing. Mr. Downing suddenly looked alert, and rather alarmed.

"Maybe, but no, I don't know." he said, and the idea died with that sentence. I nearly started crying, thinking all was hopeless.

"Da ya got a clue?" I asked him, too hopefully.

"No, I don't really know what to think. This is rather dreadful, it's like two sicknesses mixed together, because I've seen this before in another case with different diseases and it wasn't pretty either." was the reply.

It wasn't until I heard the footsteps coming into the bigger room that I suddenly became aware of the possibility of Blink coming back sooner than I thought he would. I tried to make it to the door, and nearly did, when Blink walked in. He stared for a second, then snapped out of it, and stared at me, with that horrible one eye look that could make anyone a coward faster than seemed possible.

"Explain dis." he said.

"Mr. Downing, he be a doc, an' I told him he coul' come, an' dere ain't nothin' against it Blink." I said as fast as I could, lowering my eyes from his face.

"Look at me. I ain't gonna have dis, I already told ya. I don't need da help, dere ain't nothin' worth it now. Da doctors already have told me 'nough, so I don't need no more help. What were youse tinking?" he asked me, already angry enough that I could basically see the storm clouds above his head.

"Well, see, dere was hope for a proper man ta do da job, Blink. An' I took it. He forced me ta do it. I had ta do it, Blink, it was for our's an' Crutchy's sakes, Blink, I had ta." I said, feeling like I was losing it. I knew I was, because I could feel the tears threatening to burst out of my eyes.

"Dere ain't nothin' I gotta get from a doc who don't know nothin' 'bout dis. You nose dat." said Blink. "I ain't trustin' noone, 'cause dere ain't noone ta trust."

"Dere are people out dere who wanna help, Blink, an' he wanted ta do so, so I let him."

"Alrigh', well, don't do dat or I'll beat ya for it."

"Blink, it ain't fair. Jus' let 'im do it, he's a guy wes can trust, I nose it." I said, and Blink sighed. I could see all the worry and confusion in his face in that moment. "Let me introduce ya to dese guys."

Author's Note: Chapter five will pick right up after this, don't worry, but there is chapter four. I would like to share a cool piece of information I found out about last night in case some of you fansies out there, who like me at one point, didn't know this, but Max Casella, (Racetrack, if you didn't know, I don't know why you wouldn't, but it's okay if you didn't) played Timon on "The Lion King" on Broadway in the original Broadway cast in 1998, I think that's the year. And the man who played Pumbaa was Tom Alan Robbins who played Theodore Roosevelt in Newsies on Broadway. It's pretty cool, I bet that the cast of Newsies asked Tom at least once what it was like to work with Max, because I would've done so because of Max being an original movie Newsie. Do you think they did? Tell me if you think they did when you review, because I think they probably did. Anyway, speaking of which, please review, review, review!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Author's Note: And here is Chapter Five. I am going to put it out there that I will do my best not to kill Crutchy and that he might end up getting pretty close at some point, but I will try not to kill him, or I will not be happy with myself, because I don't like stories that do kill him. It's just not right in my opinion to kill the cripple, so, yeah, I don't think he's going to die, but I really don't know. Thank you to TeamJacob1998 for reviewing, I'm glad you are getting into it! Anyway, I hope you understand, and let's begin!

Blink followed me to the Downing family. He knew them as well as they knew him, which is to say, only a little bit. He only really knew Jerry, Tom, Isabella, Mark, but their father was new to him. I decided it best to introduce him before things got messy, as I knew Blink would make them so.

"Blink, dis is Mr. Downing. Mr. Downing, dis is Kid Blink, oderwise known as Blink for short." I said, and each nodded at each other, and Mr. Downing shook hands with Blink, who was kinder to him than the kids. He knew of the man's agreement that the court case had been fairly won.

"I see that you are part of this living space as well, eh?" asked Mr. Downing. Blink only nodded, and then moved over to Crutchy, and sat down on the edge of the bunk, saying something too quietly to be heard to him.

"Blink, dis is okay wid you?" I asked, nervously.

"Yeah, guess so, dis ain't da best ting I heawd of. Now what da youse say he got?" Blink addressed Mr. Downing.

"It's more of both polio and pneumonia, and it's not good. I judge that it isn't tuberculosis, but it's definitely polio. His legs are turning in more than usual, you might take notice that his actual bum leg is worse than normal and the normal one is turning in slightly. That's the polio. His fever seems to be both, the cough is pneumonia-like, I'm not sure where it comes from." said Mr. Downing, stopping for a breath. "The choices I'm limited to are not many, and I suggest watching how it progresses. I don't have any real medicine that will help him, but if you call on me if it gets worse, I might try something."

Kid Blink looked so relieved to get a straightforward answer that apparently wasn't like a lot of answers from the doctors before that I thought he'd start crying from joy. But he didn't do anything, just nodded and looked down at the floor. I looked at Mr. Downing and he at me.

"Well, I guess that's all." he said.

"Tanks, youse don't know what help dat was." I replied.

"No problem." he answered. "I've got to go, but you kids can stay here if you want. Just know your way home."

Tom said he'd be in charge of that. Blink thanked Mr. Downing, and the gentleman was off in such a flurry as if it was an emergency that he was late for. I looked at Tom and Isabella as if waiting for one of them to speak.

Blink was not talking to any of us. He was talking to Crutchy, who was only nodding and slightly smiling in reply; I knew that Blink was trying to get Crutchy back to his normal optimistic self. The others tried to talk to me.

"You done much?" asked Tom.

"Of what?" I asked him in reply.

"Well, anything really."

"Nah, nothin' but da usual. Dat's my life, sellin' papes."

"How old are you?" asked Liz.

"14. Why?"

"Well, it isn't proper, I mean, you haven't attended a day of school, have you?" she asked.

"Nah. How old are youse?"

"12. Jerry's 9, Isabella's 13, Mark's 16, and Tom is 17." was the abrupt answer. "And we've all been to school more than once."

"Is nevah been ta school, an' don't mean ta 'cause I ain't gonna be able to live if I did." I said, and felt rather insulted. Isabella looked sympathetic for me.

"It's okay, not everyone's got to go to school. You probably know more about the streets than any of us do." she said.

"Shore."

"We've got to leave soon, mother will want us home." said Tom.

"Yeah, go home if ya want. I don't care." I said.

But I still showed them to the door, and said goodbye. Then I returned to Blink and Crutchy.

"Don't youse worry, Crutch, dat man gave us an honest answer, we's gonna make it through dis, youse are gonna do it." Blink said to Crutchy as I walked in. I sat down next to him.

"Yeah, don't youse worry. Wes can pull through." I told him.

"Shore youse...youse ...youse can say dat. But...but it don't ...don't make no diff-difference." he said. I guess he was in a mood. Mr. Downing hadn't been encouraging.

"Jus' don't tink 'bout what dat doc say, Crutchy, youse are gonna be alright." I said, and suddenly started to cry. I didn't know what to do. Blink didn't even care that I was crying in front of Crutchy.

Crutchy gripped my arm, and looked at me. In his eyes, I read all that pain and fear, but I also found a flicker of light, of warmth, of hope.

"Don't youse...youse go down...down collapsin' like...like dis, Micky. Is gonna...gonna do my best t-ta survive." he said, weakly. I only nodded.

He was too pale, too sick, too feverish. I didn't want to think about it. His curly brown hair was untidy, his green eyes seemed hazy, and I could find no comfort in this. Crutchy seemed to be getting worse, I didn't think he would ever get better. As he held onto my arm, I could feel his body heat, and although it was above average, I felt the warmth of hope.

But that hope was so small, it didn't really seem to make a difference. He was still sick and didn't seem to be doing that well.

That evening, the others didn't come immediately. Only about two people actually came in, and Racetrack was one, the other was Mush. I wasn't that surprised when Race walked in with a cigar, forgetting that earlier Blink had told him not to smoke in this room so that Crutchy didn't suffer from anymore coughing problems, but, as Race is Race, he forgot. Blink gave him a look, and it took about two minutes for Race to realize why he was getting that look, and went out and dropped the cigar into his bed or something, and came back. Mush didn't have a problem at all, but he only stayed for about 5 minutes. Race was there for a while.

When he did leave, I did as well, saying good night to Crutchy and Blink and making my way to my bed. I was worried, but found sleep much easier than last night

It was a day later, and I was with Crutchy again. So was Blink, and he seemed more worried than ever. Crutchy was worse.

He was moaning, and his fever was peaking. He also had forgotten everything, from where he was to who we were, and we only found this out when I talked to him. I gripped his wrist.

"Crutchy, Crutchy, it be me, don' worry." I said. He looked at me, his eyes full of fear and confusion.

"Who are...are youse?" he asked me. Blink looked terrified.

"It be me, Blink, don' Crutchy, I ain't a stranger, remembah?" said Blink, urgently. Crutchy only gave him a confused look.

"I ain't...don't, who...what?" was his reply.

"Go get da doc, dat Mr. Downing or sometin', Micky. Jus' go!" said Blink, and I ran out of there, scared.

Author's Note: Cliffhanger! Mwwhahaha! Sorry, just had to do that. I hope you enjoyed it, well, thought it sad and all, thank you for reading, and please, please, please, review, review, review!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Author's Note: Chapter six, yay! This is getting more and more desperate for the characters, though. Like really desperate for them. I mean, depressing at some points. So, I guess I'd better stop the talking and get on with it, so here we go!

Running, when I had relearned it, made me feel good. Now it did as well, but I felt too urgent to enjoy it. I ran all the way to the Downing's house, not stopping for a breath because I was too scared to do so. I knocked at the door, and Mr. Downing himself answered it. He saw my anxious face and asked me what was wrong.

"It be Crutchy, he, he gone, he don't have no memory." I said. "Da fevah, it be worse. He cougin' a lot."

"I'll, wait a minute." he said, grabbed his bag, and we were off at a running pace.

When we got back, he followed me into the room. Crutchy was in a coughing fit. Blink was talking to him, but he was making no sign of recognition. Mr. Downing ran over and sat down in a chair that I had pulled up to the bed. He started to ask Blink what was wrong and when he felt Crutchy's forehead, he realized just how bad it had gotten.

"He seems to be suffering from amnesia from the fever. This is not good, he could become delirious or worse." said Mr. Downing. Blink looked even more scared at this.

"He gonna, will he ge' outta it?" he asked the man.

"Well, I hope so. I don't know..." was Mr. Downing's reply.

Crutchy began to mutter something that sounded like questions of where he was and things like that. Mr. Downing looked at him, and told him to just be quiet. Crutchy gave him a strange look, but didn't say anything more.

"Whatcha gonna do?" I asked him.

"I... we might have to just use sleeping pills or something, I do have a medicine that might bring down the fever and stop the amnesia. But I might have to knock him out first because he doesn't recognize anyone. It's like a sleepwalker, it could be dangerous to mess with him and try to give him medicine without him knowing who I am." replied Mr. Downing.

"Sir, youse don't tink youse'll hafta do dat..." Blink trailed off, a look of worry spreading across his face.

"There's not much else to do. I'd give him the medicine, but I can't."

"Alrigh', do it," Blink gave in, "jus', jus' be careful."

Mr. Downing nodded and then hit Crutchy in the back of the neck, and Crutchy was unconscious. Then he told us to get a wet rag or something of the sort and put it on Crutchy's forehead. Kid Blink got part of an old shirt and did so with it. Mr. Downing said to contact him if Crutchy woke up and was still without memory, but he shouldn't, and also mentioned that a hospital would be his suggestion of help. Then he was gone.

Blink was looking more scared and anxious looking than I had ever seen him before. It was almost scary to see his face. Then he just lost it and began to cry. I sat down next to him.

"Dere's...it's all ovah, Micky. He ain't gotta chance. What are wese...I ain't, I can't, can't take dis no more!" he said.

"He's gotta chance."

"No, he ain't got many if dat is whatcha mean. I don't see none."

"He hasta make it. Crutchy's gonna make it, he's strong 'nough to." I said, trying to convince myself of this idea as well as to Blink.

"Dat ain't...Micky, I can't stand dis! Is gonna go half crazy thin' ta live wid dis!" yelled Blink.

"Blink, Blink don't, youse are gonna, he's gonna make it!" I said, trying not to cry as well. "He hasta , he's jus', jus' gotta make it."

We were silent. Blink was crying and I was trying hard not to. I didn't know what would happen if we couldn't get Crutchy to a hospital. Could we? I figured that Blink didn't, as he had stated it, want the extra help. But since Crutchy was worse now, I didn't know if he would refuse the help anymore. I had to ask him.

"Blink, wes should ge' him ta a hospital." I said.

"Da hospital ain't gonna change 'im. We ain't takin' him dere 'less dey can." replied Blink. "An' wes don't got no money."

"Bu' Blink, we, he's gotta be saved." I said, wondering why I had said that. "He's jus'

gotta be."

I started to cry. Blink looked at Crutchy, then back at me. I knew that he wasn't happy at all, but this just seemed like too much for one person. I could see the agitation in his face. He was struggling to stay calm, and I hoped he could stay that way.

He put his arm around me. It was comforting to know that he was going through the same thing as me, just worse. I guess it wasn't the best thing, but I was still slightly comforted. Maybe we could do something other than just cry and yell and do things like that.

Author's Note: I apologize for having such a short chapter, but I promise that the next one will be longer. I'm just tired because I've been really busy with a lot of things, so the next chapter might not be here until Thursday. Thank you for reading and please review, review, review!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Author's Note: Here I am! I am so glad I don't have anything tonight I can't explain my relief, so instead, I'm here writing this. Percyjacksonfangirl11: Yeah, he'll hopefully get to the hospital! Okay, so, I'll get on with it!

I don't remember what time Crutchy gained consciousness, but when he did, Blink was right next to him. His fever seemed just as bad, but his memory was back.

"Hey Crutchy." said Blink, softly.

"B-Blink?" he asked.

"Yeah, don' worry, youse okay now."

"What...what hap-happened?" asked Crutchy.

"Youse jus'..." Blink didn't finish the sentence.

"Ya lost youse memory." I said. Crutchy looked at the roof of his bunk. "Mr. Downing came ovah."

"Crutchy, dere's...wes don't know if we can take ya ta a hospital. I ain't trust dem, but..." said Blink. Crutchy only nodded slightly.

"So, ya tink it be good?" I asked.

"I...I dunno. Jus',...it ain't...ain't sometin' dat ...dat Is getta decide." he replied. I looked at Blink.

"Look, we's can, but I don't nose how wese gonna get ya dere." said Blink. "We don't got no money, eider."

"Someone can help us, dey will, Blink, Is know dey will." I said, determined to persuade Blink my way.

"Micky, Is ain't relyin' on noone no more." said Blink.

There was silence. Crutchy had another coughing fit, and this time, I could really see his ribs against his shirt and hear the fever in his coughs. Blink was looking at him, and I could see the fear in his eye when I looked at his face. When Crutchy was done coughing, Blink looked at me.

"Alrigh', wes gotta get him ta da hospital." he gave in. "Is dunno how, but we gotta."

"Yeah. How we's gonna do dis?" I asked. Blink sighed and looked to Crutchy.

"Wes gonna hafta carry youse." he told him. Crutchy only barely nodded, he just seemed in a daze and out of everything that he didn't care.

"How wes gonna tell dem, da doctors?" I asked.

"Wes'll tel dem dat Doc Downing sent us heah an' dey will let us in." replied Blink.

"How da youse know?"

"'Cause I seen his card, it say dat he work at da hospital. An', wes gonna ask him first 'fore we do dis, tomorrah." was Blink's final answer. I asked no more of him, and told him I was going outside.

But trouble was just about to strike. I was walking around the square, getting as much fresh air as I could. I needed it. And then, the Delancy brothers appeared. I knew they had been looking for Crutchy, and I should've been more careful, but I wasn't.

They spotted me as they made their way up the street into the square. I saw them, and didn't move, standing still and drawing myself up, ready to fight if I had to.

"Where da you think you're going?" asked Oscar, sneering.

"Youse ain't gonna stop me, so scram." I said.

"Come on, fight. You ain't a sissy, or maybe," said Morris, "you are."

"Ya wanna?" I asked, rolling up my sleeves. "'Cause I'll fight ya."

"Oh really, this little shrimp's gonna fight us?" said Oscar, mockingly. "You're the one from the Bronx, ain't ya?"

"Yeah." I replied.

"I heard they are real tough over there. Let's see you do this." said Oscar. I sighed, and then I saw the other newsies.

They looked either terrified or too scared to try and help me. I knew I was young compared to the Delancy brothers, but I was tougher than they thought, than the other newsies thought. When Oscar tried to punch me, I kicked him back. I fought with all I had. I kicked, punched, dodged, squirmed, and kept at it. They had underestimated me, as well as the other newsies had.

I was, though, getting bruised and cut. The longer I kept fighting them, the more bruises I knew would appear tomorrow, the more cuts I could feel opening up, the more pain I felt, and the more tired I got. And then Oscar kicked me in the stomach, and I fell. Morris had a bloody nose and looked beaten, so did Oscar, and so did I. But they still kicked me in the stomach again, and again. I lay there on my side for a moment.

"You want more?" asked Oscar.

I didn't reply, and his answer was to kick me again. Suddenly, there was Race, Mush, Bumlets, and a bunch of other recognizable newsies. They looked angry, and I could see the fear in Morris and Oscar's eyes. Then they were punching, and the Delancy brothers were running away.

"Yeah, dat's righ', run away!" yelled Race after them. He was red in the face, and I could tell that most of the others were too.

"Heah." said Mush, and he pulled me up.

I leaned on him, with my arm around his shoulder. The others were basically staring at me, I guess I had surprised them.

"Whatcha do dat for?" asked Race, as if it was the stupidest thing I'd ever done. I didn't think it beat his record of stupid things, but whatever.

"Hey, I gotta protect meself. An' dey told me ta, forced me ta do dat." I said, breathing in and out, trying to remember what air in my lungs felt like.

"Dat was pretty good, though. Nobody like dem, ya know, an' youse pretty much beat dem up." said Itey, looking impressed.

"Den dey kicked me in da stomach."I said, not wanting too much attention from everyone.

"Bu' ya beat dem, youse beat dem good. Dey deserved dat." said Race.

"Yeah, an' dat's what I gotta deal wid at da Bronx sometimes. Dere are guys like dat everywhere." I replied.

"Let's get back ta da lodging house." said Mush, and myself and him walked back. Race was the only other one who followed.

I leaned on Mush, and when we reached the lodging house, I found that I could walk again. I went into the room and found Blink talking to Crutchy. Race followed me, Mush did as well.

"Micky, wha' happened?" Blink asked when he saw me; he had obviously spotted the bruises and cuts.

"Dis kid jus' pretty much beat Oscar an' Morris." Race said, looking at Blink in disbelief.

"Hey, it be nothin' much. Is didn' win.' I said.

"Ya managed ta get dose two beaten, eh?" Blink looked slightly humored. "Dey asked for it anyway, dey's been beatin' up people all da time."

I nodded, and sat down in a chair. Crutchy was busy looking at the roof of his bunk, but when I sat down, he gave me a small smile, and I knew I had done something that had impressed and made him happy, even if he couldn't really tell me so. He just seemed so weak, but that smile made me do so in return, because I felt that there was maybe hope in that one smile.

Author's Note: So, there you go. I hope you liked it, and I will try to update soon. Things are going to happen, the hospital will appear, and etc., so hang on in there. Thank you for reading and please review, review, review!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Author's Note: And here I am again, on my day off of school. A shout out to the reviewer(s) that, well, reviewed the last chapter, thank you for...reviewing. I appreciate it! And now, on with it!

The following hours were rushed and I was in a daze. I had quite a few bruises, and I was tired, and bleeding in some places. The next thing I knew, though, I was being asked questions by Mr. Downing, who was checking on Crutchy. He was asking me what else Crutchy had been suffering from and if anything was worse. I just replied with simple answers and tried not to fall asleep in the chair.

When he finally left, the Manhattan newsies were getting ready for bed, and I could hear their noise and screams. Even though it might've not been the normal amount of noise, it was still loud and kept me up; not to mention that Blink wanted me to stay in his room for a little longer because he knew that the others would be asking me questions about the Delancy brothers and other things besides. I snuck out eventually and fell asleep immediately.

The morning was sunny, but I could find nothing very happy about it. Crutchy was worse, he seemed more dazed and lost than ever even though he still had a memory. His fever was still high, and his coughs seemed more frequent, and his legs were more twisted looking, and everything else was just horrible. He had only been eating a little bit each day, and this morning, he didn't eat anything.

Blink was more anxious looking and didn't leave the room the entire morning. I wondered why he didn't want to take Crutchy to the hospital, but I guess he was trying to delay it even though he had agreed to take him there. For Blink, this was a fight. For all of us, it was a struggle, not quite as much, but still pretty bad.

I suggested to Blink that I should get Mr. Downing, and then he could help us get Crutchy to the hospital. Blink gave me a long look before he replied.

"Look, Micky, I nose it be for da best, bu' relyin' on dis doc ain't sometin' I like ta do. An' how he be helpin' us, we'se can nevah repay. Bu' how's he gonna help us do dis?" he said, and I had to admit, I wasn't sure. But I left the building anyway to go find the doctor.

I only hoped he would be around. It was a Saturday, but since he was a doctor, I guess it was an all week job, just like us newsies, but a better pay and a better life, and a better job. When I knocked at the door, their mother appeared, to my horror, and she looked at me as if I was an unknown person to her.

"What do you want?" she asked, almost sneering.

"Jus' wanted youse husband, ma'am, I ain't needin' anytin' else." I replied.

"For what?"

"Jus'...he been helpin' us wid ... wid a newsie, an' we need 'im ta come." I said. She sighed, then called into the house for her husband.

When he appeared, he looked at me, his facial expression one of worry.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We wanted ya ta help us wid dat whole hospital ting, an'..." I said, trailing off. He got the message.

"Honey, I will be back soon for lunch, I promise you. I have to go." Mr. Downing said to his wife with much urgency, and then followed me to the lodging house.

When we went into Blink's room, Blink stood up and told Mr. Downing what we had planned to do. Mr. Downing's initial reply was to say that he would help us get Crutchy there and would do his best to explain to the nurses, not that he needed to being a doctor, but all the same, he seemed to feel a lot of responsibility towards it.

"So, how's wes gonna do dis?" asked Blink.

"Well, you can carry him, but I'm not too sure...right then, do carry him and then we can bother with other things later. Follow me." he replied.

Blink picked Crutchy up and adjusted him. It was awkward because Crutchy was tall compared to Blink, but he didn't weigh much at this point. We followed Mr. Downing to the hospital, and I was last in our line.

People might've looked at us on the way there, but not the way they did when we walked inside and encountered the nurse at the desk. She looked surprised, but regained her stature and talked to Mr. Downing for a good bit of time. Then he took us up a few flights of stairs and we walked into one of those little rooms that only have a bed and maybe a few scrawny, ugly pieces of equipment that was the way equipment always looked.

Kid Blink put Crutchy down on the bed, and Mr. Downing told us that we could stay here, and someone would probably come in at some point or another, and then he left. I sat down in a chair, tired and done with everything. Blink did the same, and he wasn't really in reality for a few minutes. He just spaced out, and I knew he was so tired that he couldn't stand it, but it was strange.

Now, Crutchy was so out of it that I could see his eyes were really only focused on the roof, and he was moaning from the fever. Blink didn't talk to him; he didn't talk to us. I found myself almost falling asleep, and was only woken up by the sound of someone coming in. It was a man in a white coat, clearly a doctor.

"I will ask you to leave the room now, I apologize, but it is needed for work." he said. Blink scowled at him, but Crutchy looked at him and I knew that Blink would leave.

I followed Blink out the door, looked back at Crutchy, and then looked forward again, hoping something would help him. I didn't know what would happen behind that closed door, but whatever it was, I doubted that it would be anything but nice.

It had been a worry of mine about Blink going off like a bomb any second this whole time I was here. I could feel his anger, and it seemed to have intensified. As we walked back to the lodging house, I began to question him.

"What's da mattah wid you?" I asked him. "What happened?"

"I...Is found out 'bout sometin' dat caused Crutchy ta get dis bad off. He told me dat...dat it was partly the Delancy bruddahs fault, it be also sometin' else dat he ain't tellin' me. Dey 'pparently beat 'im up, Micky, dey hurt 'im, aftah he got Oscar all mad an' all, dey beat 'im up. Now I ain't gonna live wid dis, I ain't gonna, youse know it, youse know it!" he yelled, and by this time, we were in the lodging house.

"So, dey beat 'im up?"

"Yeah, ya bet dey did. An' dey's gonna pay." he said, and that was the moment in which the bomb exploded inside of him.

He just pretty much lost control and kicked things. He was yelling curses and other things at Oscar and Morris, and plenty of other words of which I knew just made him feel better about letting it all out and worse. There were plenty of words about how he was going to get revenge, and how it wasn't fair, and everything else. I didn't interrupt, just sat down on a bed, and listened as I tried to think of a world without Crutchy.

It was hard, I didn't like it. Blink had basically gone mad, and when he finally became exhausted, he collapsed and began crying. He was still swearing and saying plenty of things, just sobbing in between. I found myself crying, and I didn't say anything. I felt the pain and the anger radiating from him.

There was silence for a while. I didn't realize that Blink was gone until I realized how quiet it was, and then I became alarmed. He wasn't in the building, I could tell. Where was he, and where was he going? Would he, in his anger, just go and jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, or was he going to walk around and find someone to beat up? I didn't know which, and found that I was terrified.

When Racetrack walked in, I didn't know why he was there, but I could care less. I ran up to him, and started saying things as fast as I could. He gave me a confused look, then realized that I was in a panic.

"Cool down, Micky. What youse sayin'? Slow down." he said.

"Dere's, Blink's gone, he, he jus' blew an' left, an' I dunno where he is..." I said, and explained everything from the beginning.

Race listened, and by the ending, his face told me that he was worried. I guess the fact that Blink had just disappeared was unnerving.

"We gotta go fin' him, come on!" he said, and with that, he grabbed me by the arm and ran out, with me running behind him.

Author's Note: Cliffhanger! Hahahahaha! More like: Mwhahahaha! Okay, I'll stop. Anyway, I hope you liked it, thanks for reading, and please review, review, review!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Author's Note: Whoa, chapter nine! I am rather sorry about not updating yesterday, but I was doing...well, let me just say, I was busy, kinda, in different things, so, I apologize and hope this makes up for it. But nonetheless, it's Sunday, I have school tomorrow, and I'm trying to update as much as possible in between the next hour or so, so here we go!

Race was pretty fast, and I guess that he surprised me a little. But short people always seem accustomed to being fast, and so I shouldn't have been surprised. We ran for a while, I'm not even sure where we went in that time. My mind was in a daze, I could only see colors and every once in a while, someone would look up and yell at us from running into them. For me, this felt like three hours; in reality, it was only about 5 minutes.

We arrived at a place where I guess Race knew that there would be others there, and indeed, he began talking to a man who was standing in front of a restaurant, a waiter, and the man looked slightly confused at first.

"Sir, have ya seen a kid wid an eyepatch run past heah?" asked Race.

"What do you mean? Anymore description?" the man asked in return. Race rolled his eyes at me, and then turned back to the man.

"Sandy blond hair, an' an eyepatch, taller dan me, an' him, a newsie. He, he woulda been angry lookin' an' probably cussin' up a storm. An' he got a blue eye."

"I might've...actually, yes, I did see a boy with those looks, about, er, maybe 15 minutes ago."

"Which way did 'e go?" asked Race, getting more desperate. The man pointed to the right and told us as much as he knew about the direction Blink had gone. We thanked him, and then took off.

"He's gonna go missin'. Maybe Spot will fin' 'im. Is dunno." said Race as we ran. I just shook my head in disbelief at the amount of ground Blink had covered in such short a time.

We seemed to be heading towards the Brooklyn area. Race said it was best to check up at the bridge, and hopefully, he half joked, we wouldn't find a half drowned newsie instead of Blink living himself. Or maybe Blink would go and murder someone else, was Race's other suggestion. I just shook my head again at these outrageous ideas and kept moving.

The Brooklyn Bridge was pretty far from here. We didn't get any straight answers from anyone else, even newsies, and the first newsie we asked was Dutchy. He just looked at us like we were crazy.

"Whadda ya mean, Blink's gone? I ain't seen him, dat's what I know." was the only answer we got out of him. But he promised to alert anyone else that he saw or could get to.

Race was really rather anxious looking by now, and so was I. After what seemed like forever, we finally got to the bridge. As we approached it, I looked closer, or tried to. We had stopped running a while ago. But I could see a figure standing with its back to us. I figured it was a male because of its shape, and I realized that it looked like Blink hadn't quite yet thrown himself into the water, but he looked close to doing it. Race didn't call out his name and neither did I, we didn't want to make him realize we were there, then actually have him jump in.

He didn't hear us, and soon, when we were practically right behind him, Race took the chance to, well, scare the living crap out of Blink.

"Hey Blink, whatcha doin' heah?!" he yelled, and laughed in spite of himself at Blink's reaction, which was to jump about 50 feet in the air.

When he, as I will refer it as, when gravity became real for him again, he gave Race a murderous look. I had been trying to hold back my laughter, but failed to and was laughing with Race before I knew it. I soon calmed down, and became solemn. Blink sighed and I knew he was still angry.

"Bu' really, Blink, whatcha doin' heah?" asked Race, more quietly and gently this time.

"How did Ise know dat youse would find me?" retorted Blink.

"All I'm sayin' is, don't do nothin' stupid, Blink."

"Yeah, an' like doin' anytin' else is gonna help me now."

"We nose dat youse are angry, Blink. But dat's not gonna help Crutchy." I said.

"Revenge ain't gonna eider." was Race's input, which, being Race, he had to say something in every conversation.

"Dat's what ya tink, eh?" said Blink. "Dat's what ya tink I ain't gonna do, eh? Well let me tell ya sometin', Ise is gonna do what I tink is sometin' dat will help, wheder it be revenge or anytin'."

There was silence for a few minutes as Blink kicked the wall that was the begining of the bridge, all the while cussing and still saying things against the Delancy brothers. Race was staring over at Brooklyn. I'd heard stories about how he'd come over to live in Manhattan. He was a Brooklynite at heart, with all that awful Brooklyn blood, and that temper, and yet he also had Manhattan blood and their temper, and just his tendency to throw punch lines and be himself all of the time. I mean, he still sells in Brooklyn, but he doesn't really live there anymore and doesn't talk about it much.

And I myself was thinking about things like Crutchy, and if he would live, and ...and the fact that I didn't like that "if" at all, as I have stated before, and what Blink would do if...if everything went wrong, if it all went opposite that "if". I didn't have a clue as to what would happen, I only knew that everyone was doing their best to try and stay calm about it. Blink had failed, and if he did, then everyone else was left with the choice of calmness or becoming as angry as Blink.

The silence remained for a while, and aside from Blink's various...adjectives on the Delancy brothers and other things concerning that, there seemed to be no sound, not even the horse coaches and people moving to and fro from the bridge and going onto it. Then Race broke the silence, as he tended to do.

"So, youse comin' home or not?" he asked him, blowing out smoke from his cigar, directly into Blink's face.

"Stop dat an' I will." replied Blink, and Race just flashed him a smile that only Race was capable of, and Blink didn't yell at him or anything.

We began to walk home. It would be a rather long walk, but we were going at a quick pace. When we finally made it back, the others were relieved looking to see us, but also seemed rather worried. Blink made it clear that he was about to tell them something important, and that shut them all up.

"Dere's, wes found out a part of da reason Crutchy got sick. It's partly, as Is foun' out, da Delancy bruddahs faults. Dey did beat 'im up, an' dat was all I got outta him." said Blink. There were angry comments from everyone about how the Delancy brothers were idiots, and the angry uproars of newsies.

Even Kloppman looked angry, and he had only popped in for a moment. The Delancy brothers didn't work for the distribution center anymore, but everyone, including Kloppman, knew very well who they were. I heard plenty of threats, and Blink was busy causing mayhem, joining in the screams and everything else. He announced that we would fight them as soon as was possible, and even though I heard plenty of people yell that we should do it tonight, Blink refused to do so until morning, and noone asked why, because it was at that moment that Mr. Downing appeared and asked for Blink. I followed the both of them out because Blink had motioned for me to follow, and I first took in the worried expression on Mr. Downing's face, and braced myself for whatever he was about to tell us.

Author's Note: Oh my goodness, another cliffhanger! I won't laugh this time, I promise. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I am starting a new story as soon as is possible, that is, A.S.A.P., and it is Newsies, so... yeah, I have high hopes for it. Anyway, thank you, and please, review, review, review!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Author's Note: Oh man, it's been forever since I updated this. Well, it feels like forever. I've been extremely busy, I warned you that I would be, so updating hasn't really happened. But thankfully, here I am with an update! Yay! Enough said, here we go!

"What is it?" asked Blink, his eyes going a mile a minute over Mr. Downing's face. We were standing outside in the hall.

"Well...we know what's wrong with him. They diagnosed him the same as I did. He's...they're trying to hold back his legs from turning in further. He's been asking for the both of you." explained Mr. Downing. Kid Blink nodded. "I know it's late, but... well... follow me."

We followed him to the hospital. When we arrived, all three of us were out of breath, as we had run. He let us go to Crutchy and left to go do something.

Crutchy looked at us when we walked in. He was pale, paler than I had ever seen him before. The doctors had a weird metal thing holding his good leg back, or trying to. His bad leg wasn't being cared for, they clearly though that it didn't matter if it went. But I'm sure Crutchy did; it looked painful. Blink sat down and I followed suit.

"Hey Crutchy. Dey takin' care of ya?" asked Blink.

"Ta...ta some...someway or ...or oder." replied Crutchy.

"Dey try an' feed ya or sometin'?"

"Yeah. Dey...dey say I...I gotta.. I ain't...ain't, can't." said Crutchy looking at the ceiling again, and I guessed that Blink had sensed something in the way he had talked about their care of him in the first place. "It be...be painful. Dis...dis metal ...metal ting, it ain't, ain't all...all dat he-helpful. Dey don'...don' care...care 'bout me...me oder leg, me...me bad leg."

"Ya know, we ain't givin' up on dem or youse." I said. Crutchy looked at me.

"Yeah, yeah, youse...youse ain't...ain't gonna give...give up on...on me. Is might...might give up on ...on meself, though." he said.

"Don' youse tink or say dat, Crutch, we'se ain't giving up on youse, so youse ain't givin' up on youself." said Blink, shaking his head. "Youse are gonna pull through, youse are gonna pull through dis."

We sat there silently. I noticed how shallowly Crutchy was breathing. He was struggling to stay alive. I figured he wasn't breathing that well because it probably had something to do with the fact that his lungs could be full of something. I'd heard Mr. Downing talking about that. Crutchy had a horrible fever, and when he started coughing, I tried not to think about it. But I did, and it was more horrible than ever, his whole body racked with them. He was more pale, his ribs showed, and he was terribly skinny. All the while, Blink looked terribly worried.

After he had finished, there was silence. Then Crutchy began to mutter nonsense and moan more. Blink grabbed Crutchy's wrist. He seemed alarmed at the pulse he felt and the fever. Crutchy's breathing was slow, shallow, and looked like he was struggling to stay alive, which I had no doubt that he was.

"Crutchy, hol' on, Crutch, youse gotta jus' hol' on, ya jus' gotta." Blink was saying quietly to Crutchy.

"B-Blink..." Crutchy muttered, his eyes closed. "Don'...don' go no-nowhere..."

"Is ain't gonna, Crutchy. I ain't gonna. Neider are youse." said Blink. He had let go of Crutchy's wrist, but was still not taking his eyes away from him.

I had, suddenly, the horrible though that Crutchy could be dying. I shoved the thought away as fast as I could. Crutchy couldn't die, he just couldn't, I wasn't going to let this happen. And Blink clearly wasn't either. Crutchy was barely breathing.

"Crutchy, jus' stay wid me, youse are gonna be...jus' please don' go nowhere. Youse ain't, ya can't leave us now." said Blink. His face shone with pain and worry and I saw tears in his eye.

I could only hope that Crutchy would be okay. But I felt dread in my gut, a cold, dark, dread, a fear, a realization, one that proved that Crutchy had a low chance of survival.

He started coughing violently. I didn't watch. Blink was watching and he looked scared when I looked over at him. His next instructions to me were fast and urgently spoken.

"Micky, ge' a doc." he said. I nodded, gulping, and ran out of the room.

I didn't know who to look for, but the first doctor I met was a large man who was milling about. I walked up to him, scared that I might not get his help or sympathy.

"Sir, dere's, wes need ya in one of da rooms." I said, and he immediately asked me which room. I told him, and he seemed to know that Crutchy was in there and we ran back into the room.

Blink let the man have his chair, and took mine. I stood there, watching. The doctor was looking Crutchy up and down. Crutchy still had his eyes closed, I figured he was too weak and too tired to open them. Doctor Cook, which was the name of the man, had a pained expression on his face as he felt Crutchy's pulse.

"Can ya do anytin', sir?" asked Blink, sounding scared to ask this.

"Well...I don't know. He's burning up and losing consciousness. We could try things out, but I don't think anything would help." was the doubtful reply from the doctor. "He's losing it, dying. And unless the one thing that could work does, I don't think I could do anything."

Blink didn't take this too quietly. He stared at Crutchy, and he was muttering beneath his breath. I only heard a few words, but that's all I needed. "No, no Crutch, come on, ya gotta..." and the rest was like that. I felt a tear go down my cheek. Crutchy couldn't die. He just couldn't. I wouldn't be able to ever understand if he did.

When Crutchy gasped, Blink gripped his wrist again. Crutchy was struggling for air, like a fish out of water. Dr. Cook looked worried and was muttering something about a blockage or lack of air or something. Crutchy was breathing slower, gasping more. Blink was watching the doctor with a worried expression. The doctor himself was getting up. He told us that he would be back soon, and soon indeed he was. 2 minutes later, he came back with more doctors. They told me and Blink that we would have to leave the room. Blink got angry, but they pushed us out.

I cried harder when we got into that hallway. Blink put his arm around my shoulder. He wasn't crying, but I could tell he was holding it all back. He was breathing heavily and I knew that it was a sign of tears obviously choking him. The lump in my throat was choking me. We stood in that hallway, and I just cried, not caring if people saw me or not.

"Don't... Micky, wes gonna, wes gonna do dis.' he said, trying to comfort me.

"Dere ain't nothin' good 'bout dis, is dere, Blink?" I said, between sobs. He pulled me into a hug, a friendly, comforting hug.

"Wes jus' got ourselves, now, Micky, sos we gotta stay strong." he replied. I didn't say anything and when he let go of me, he still had his arm around my shoulder.

But he was ready to cry. I knew he was, his blue eye was watering. I could hear doctors moving about. I didn't know if they had watched. Blink and I went and sat down across from the door of that...that room. I didn't dare think about what was going on in there. I couldn't. Crutchy was a brother. I loved him like one. And that meant I had to do something for him.

"I ain't done 'nough for him." I said to Blink, looking at him through tears.

"Naw, youse done plenty. Ya got Mr. Downing, ya got him heah." said Blink.

"Blink, he, he jus' gotta be bettah. He's jus gotta." I replied. Blink didn't say anything else. It was so late at night, well, morning, I figured about 4 or 5 in the morning. We were both exhausted, and going through more mental pain than seemed possible.

Finally, after about an hour, a doctor came out of the room. Blink and I had slept for about 3 hours. When the doctor came up, we snapped out of our chairs. The doctor looked slightly alarmed to see to sleepless, messy newsies suddenly in front of him, but I guess he figured out who we were and relaxed a little. Blink was onto him in a split second.

"Wha' happened?"

Author's Note: Oh dear, I don't know what to do. Oh yeah, another cliffhanger! Anyway, this is getting tough. I have a draft where the bad things happen. I need to write good things, an alternate ending will be put up. That's the draft. But how am I going to get Crutchy out of this? Oh dear. I am trying my best to keep him alive. Honestly, I am. But it's hard when he's like, half dead already and sick with some of the worst diseases of that time period, so... suggestions please? I would appreciate it! Thank you, and please review, and give suggestions, and tell me some ideas, because otherwise, it's gonna become tragic around here! Thank you and review, review, review!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Author's Note: Umm... yeah. TeamJacob1998: Antibiotics in 1901? I wish. I wish it were possible. But I highly doubt that they had those back then. It's kinda hard to imagine that. No offense. If I could, I would make that happen. But it's totally unrealistic, even more non-historical than what I am considering doing to save him that will happen if I feel the need. But what, I ask you, if this became a tragedy story? Would you kill me? Leave me? Yell at me? I'd rather get yelled at than the other two options. Because the other two options are horrible. Yell at me, please, if this all goes wrong. I beg you, only yell at me, nothing else, just yell all you want. Because I have a feeling this story isn't going to be a lot of fun now. The characters are getting more desperate, and so is the author. But I am doing my best to keep them in line and all of them alive without having to kill anyone, so here we go. Sorry for not updating sooner, I got a kitten and I've been busy. But anyway... this is going to be interesting. On with the story.

"Well...look, I can't let you go in there." said the doctor.

"Wha' happened? Youse have gotta tell me, or Is'll soak ya. So will he." threatened Blink. The doctor looked scared for a moment, and then Doctor Cook appeared.

"Let them in, Edward. Now." he said. The doctor shrugged and we went in.

There were a few doctors in the room. Crutchy was lying on the bed, and I didn't see any movement, any breath. The doctors were trying to get him to breath again. One was pushing his chest and breathing into his mouth. Mr. Downing was the doctor preforming this... whatever it was called. Blink was next to him and so was I faster than my body could register.

Blink immediately asked another doctor what was going on, his curiosity, terror, and nervousness all mixed into one. The doctor explained that at one point, Crutchy had stopped breathing and Mr. Downing was trying to put air back into him. I felt my hands start to tremble, I was terrified.

If Crutchy started breathing again, the same doctor said, that meant that they would have to get his lungs clear as soon as was possible. Then they would need to get some type of soup, I wasn't sure why, but hopefully, as the doctor said, it would still clear out his lungs. This took about 12 seconds for the doctor to explain as he sounded just as nervous as I felt. Mr. Downing was working fast, and I didn't see anything that meant that Crutchy was breathing again.

Blink was having a mental breakdown, I could tell. He was gripping Crutchy's wrist and muttering under his breath, trying to convince himself that Crutchy would be alright.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Crutchy gasped and started to breath again. Mr. Downing sat back and breathed a small sigh of relief. I felt myself lose a little bit of tension. Another doctor came up with the aforesaid soup, and the process began exactly how the doctor had said it would.

Crutchy was breathing, that's all that mattered to me right now. I didn't care at all about anything else. I was so worried and worked up that I knew I was bound to start sobbing from relief any minute, but I also knew that Crutchy still had a small chance of survival and a large chance of loss. Blink looked relieved, and I was glad of that, I was worried that if things had gone otherwise, he would have not made it.

The doctors worked fast and finally, they said that his lungs were clearer and breathing was easier. The fever, though, as they said, was not good and required more than they had to bring it down. Their only solution was to put cold clothes on his forehead and things like that. Soon after, the doctors were gone. It was about 6 in the morning, and I wasn't feeling all that great. But I stayed awake.

Blink had gotten Crutchy to speak finally. Crutchy was weak, and we all knew it, but he had managed to come into a conscious state and wasn't opening his eyes or anything, but he could still talk.

"Hey Crutchy." said Blink, softly.

"Blink...dere's...dat was..." Crutchy murmured.

"Don' youse worry now, ya gonna be alrigh'" I said, and I had stronger hope in that sentence than I had in a while.

"Wha' wen'...wen' on?" he asked.

"Wes'll tell youse sometime latah," replied Blink, "bu' now ain't dat time, 'cause ya jus' don' need ta know."

"Is thought...thought Is...Is was...was dead..."

"Ya ain't, an' ya won' be. Don't youse worry, Crutch, wes are gonna make shore dat nothin' else happens." said Blink.

"Dere was...was black...black...den light...den Is was...was pulled outta ...outta it...Is was...was alive...'gain." he said.

"Youse ain't goin' nowhere, so dere's no reason ta worry 'bout dat." replied Blink. "Youse are heah now, ya ain't gonna leave."

Crutchy gripped Blink's wrist and I could tell he was trying to find reality. It was probably nerve-wrecking to have died and then come back, but I didn't really ever want to find out. All I wanted to know was if, no, when Crutchy would get better. His legs never would, I doubted the use of either of them would work very well. Even his good leg was turned in pretty far; by the time he had gotten here it seemed to have been too late.

We were with him the rest of the morning. We talked or we didn't, and sometimes Blink shed a few tears. I was too relieved to cry tears of relief, and it wasn't really something I like to do. Crutchy was better already. His eyes shone green just like they always did. He might've been in a good amount of pain and felt tired, but he didn't really show it. I saw more than one familiar smile come across his face once in a while. I was glad about that, I had missed his smiles that light up rooms and make everyone smile and happy.

The doctors were pretty sure that he was going to be better off now. Their only concern were his legs, but they said they would worry more about the fever and things now. He wasn't coughing as much, but he was still so weak and skinny he almost looked like a skeleton. At least Crutchy was alive. I didn't give anything much more thought that day.

But the next day, things became cold and hard again. I had gotten to sleep the whole night, which was wonderful. I woke up in the hospital room, because Blink and I had stayed there with Crutchy, and found that the doctors were at work again. I was worried, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want Blink going off again on how he didn't like help from people.

Crutchy's fever was raging. His legs were in considerable amount of danger, for neither looked like they would ever be usable again. The doctors were really stressing about this. They were trying to bring down his fever as well. It wasn't really working. The fever seemed like it would never go down.

And then one day, finally, it did. Only a bit, but Crutchy wasn't sweating as much anymore. It had been two whole days, and finally, the doctors fixed this problem. They were always putting cold things on his head and making him eat more. I didn't see how they managed to get him to eat anything at all, as he didn't seem to be wanting any food. But they did, and Blink was a major factor in coaxing him to eat sometimes. I guess Crutchy just didn't like being patronized at all, because that's what the doctors, unbeknownst to them, were doing. Blink just talked to him, and Crutchy would eventually eat.

But then came the major problem. I began to get worried again. It was Crutchy's legs. And they didn't seem capable of anything anymore. The doctors thought he would go completely lame. Crutchy really hadn't open his eyes, either, and they didn't understand why. I figured with the way he felt and the fact that he had about zero strength were why, and now we all were worrying about more than I thought anyone could handle. We were going to have to see if he was ever going to walk again.

Author's Note: I hoped you enjoyed it, and the next chapter will be up as soon as I have free time. See, I did take a bit of ideas from the audience. The soup wasn't my idea. The CPR in 1901 was, and I have to admit, it was a little far stretched, but antibiotics wouldn't have looked any better. CPR costs less, too. No joke, but joke intended. If that makes any sense. Alright, well, I hoped you liked it, and thank you and please review! Ideas/suggestions will still be gladly taken, I need it for my next chapter anyway! Thank you again and review, review, review!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Author's Note: Well, here I am again! I hope you don't mind that I was late on updating, but I've been busy. TeamJacob1998: I understand that you got the idea from your dad, it's okay. I did use the soup part though, that was a good idea. I mean, I used CPR in 1901! It's kinda amazing that I did that. But I guess it just happened. So you're good. Fruitstickers: Hey, thanks for reviewing! I'm glad that you enjoy this story so much that you haven't bothered to review until now, it's okay with me, and yeah, Crutchy is strong, he will pull through this, I am sure of it! Okay, now, I'll get on with the chapter!

Had we known that the reason Crutchy hadn't opened his eyes was from a potential blindness and the doctors had told him not to, Blink might've done better with this news two days later. So the doctors had pretended not to understand why he hadn't opened them, when in real life, they had been worried for his sight. I started to sweat when Mr. Downing told us this. We had been spending our days here in the hospital. Kloppman, we had been told, was keeping Blink's bed open and wasn't going to let anyone invade it.

But now, I wasn't sure if Blink was going to ever leave Crutchy's side. He was extremely worried and I knew it, his facial expressions told me so. It might've been because he tended to be worried around me a lot, or something, but I knew that expression like the back of my hand now. And it was not a good thing to see.

"Sir, da youse tink dat he ain't gonna have sight?" he asked Mr. Downing after we got this news.

"Well, we can't be sure, but the fever was pretty high and we had to take precaution on it. I wasn't sure if this was a good estimate until I consulted the fever and another doctor, who said to tell Crutchy not to open his eyes. They needed a few days to heal, in case they had gone blind." said Mr. Downing. "But you two weren't allowed to know. Now that we know that they have sight and he can see, it's going to be fine."

Blink's worried expression disappeared with that last sentence and he sighed. I looked at Crutchy, who was talking to some doctor. He seemed to be pretty normal. Mr. Downing, though, then went on to say that they were going to try and make him walk. I got clammy again.

"Walkin' ain't gonna work well, is it?" I asked him.

"Well...no. It won't work very well at all, I fear. His legs are turned pretty far in."

"Dis has gotta work, I ain't gonna watch him not be able ta walk." said Blink fiercely. I looked at him and saw the determination in his eye. "He ain't gonna spend da rest of his life in a bed. It jus' ain't happenin'."

Mr. Downing looked at him and I knew he could tell Blink was in pain. He probably felt it, because that's all Blink had radiated for the past few days. Pain and worry, and a little bit of anger. I had felt it all that time, and I wasn't all that happy either. Crutchy had to walk somehow, even if he always had a bad leg and couldn't walk that well in the first place. He just had to.

A doctor appeared out of nowhere. He spoke in a whisper to Mr. Downing, who nodded to him and looked at us.

"I have to go. I'll be back soon, but you're welcome to wander as always." he said. Blink nodded.

Mr. Downing left us, and we sat there silently for a moment. Then Blink got up and went over to Crutchy. I followed. Crutchy moved his head towards us. He still hadn't opened his eyes.

"Heya Blink." he said, a smile growing on his face.

"Hey Crutchy, how's it goin'?" replied Blink, trying to be more upbeat. He never was able to keep up with Crutchy's optimistic personality, in fact, I don't think anyone could.

"Jus' da...da usual. Nothin'...nothin' much."

"Dey's gonna make youse walk soon, ya know." I said.

"Yeah, yeah...Is know." he answered, nodding. "Is jus' don' know...know if Is gonna...gonna be able...able ta do it."

"Youse are gonna do fine, Crutchy."said Blink.

"Maybe. Is dunno...dunno if Is ca-can."

"Ya hafta. Youse will." was Blink's quick reply. I knew he wasn't going to take this from Crutchy.

"Wes'll see." replied Crutchy.

Blink didn't reply. He looked away and I wondered why he looked like he was looking into the past. His face echoed something. I always ended up asking him stuff, and I knew it might've been annoying, but I seriously needed answers. _"At least,"_ I told myself, _"I'll ask this one thing of him. One more time. Then leave him alone for a while, or he's gonna get annoyed."_

As this idea settled into my brain, I whispered into Blink's ear that we should go over to an area where I could ask him something. He didn't disagree. In fact, it seemed like he had been just about to suggest the same thing.

"I need ta ask youse sometin'." I started, but he interrupted me.

"No, Is need ta tell youse sometin' Is remembah."he said. I nodded, waiting. "See, dere's a parta me past dat Is remembah easily 'cause it was aftah I lost me eye. Da reason Is did was cause, well, Is go' sick.

'Dere's... well, it ain't nothin' dat Is like ta talk 'bout. Only a few newsies nose 'bout dis. Tommy Cat, Crutchy, an' a few oders. None da less, Is go' sick. An' dis was a fevah. Bu' one of me eyes got infected, da blin' one, an' it went blin'. Well, dey thought dat da oder one would too.

'See, back den, Is lived wid me fadder. He ain't like me at all, an' I don't like him. Bu' anyway, dey all, da doctors an' him didn't tink I'd make it. Dey thought that 'cause of one blind eye an' a bad fevah, I wasn' gonna live.

'Bu' I showed dem wrong 'cause Is didn't like me fadder at all, an' I needed ta prove him wrong. Da fevah disappeared. An' I survived even wid one eye. It was hard ta get used ta dat, 'cause I couldn't see outta it.

'So when dey say dat Crutchy ain't gonna walk, Is tink 'bout when dey said dat I wasn't gonna make it eider. Crutchy nose I do, an' he's tryin' ta do da same. Bu' Is don' know what's gonna happen. It ain't fair. An' dat's jus' da way it is. Bu' he's gotta walk, I be sure he will. He jus' gotta." finished Blink. I didn't talk for a moment.

We heard sounds from behind, and turned to see three doctors at Crutchy's bed. His eyes were open again. And he looked like he could see, because he looked over to us and winked. I knew he was going to try his best at this walking thing, and I hoped it would work. Blink and I made our way over to him.

"Youse gonna try now?" asked Blink.

"Yes. If you can just assist him instead of us, we'll leave you alone." said one doctor. I found that part strange. Blink nodded and they left, but I could've bet there were spies watching somewhere.

Blink came up to Crutchy who grinned. I knew he wasn't feeling wonderful or anything, but I trusted him. Blink grabbed his wrists and pulled him into a sitting position. I didn't know what would happen.

Crutchy grabbed the edges of the bed. Blink once again grabbed him and pulled him all the way up. I stood in the back of Crutchy, ready to catch him because I knew he'd fall. Crutchy was wobbling around, but Blink had a firm grip on his elbows.

"Dis ain't gonna go well, Blink." said Crutchy.

"Jus' come on an' do it. Try it." replied Blink, firmly but softly.

I followed slowly as Blink moved Crutchy two steps up. Crutchy had no balance whatsoever, I knew, and his legs turned in farther it seemed. He fell backwards and I caught him. Then I pushed him back up again. He didn't weigh much right now. Blink was his balance and I was his landing point. He fell down many times after that, and Blink kept coaxing him. We finally made it to the end of the room. That was when he collapsed and we got him back into the bed.

I knew Crutchy felt weak. He sighed slightly. He had no balance, and no center of anything. He couldn't really walk. A doctor came in only seconds later.

He had been watching, I knew he had. He gave us a small smile. I didn't know what to think. My concern was growing worse. There was no chance that Crutchy would walk again, at least not yet. That could hardly be called _walking_.

Author's Note: There's chapter 12, and I hoped you liked it! I really don't know what's gonna happen, I'm nervous! But in the meantime, I beg you to please give suggestions/ideas in your reviews, and I will update as soon as I can. Please review, review, review!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Author's Note: Alright, finally, here I am again! I will never be able to explain how sorry I am to have left you guys for three weeks without any updates, and I am sincerely sorry. The reasons are simple: I've been busy. I'm writing a novel for NaNoWriMo, is anyone else? I lost the mass storage thing that I can take my chapters of these things back and forth between the two computers, well, my mom and my brother did. And I've had a lot of other things going on, so I apologize again for taking so long to get back to this story and the other(s). Anyway, here we go!

Blink and I finally went back to the lodging house one day, but we both knew that soon, we'd be going back to the hospital. Crutchy might have been pulling through okay now, but it could get worse and we couldn't leave him by himself for too long. Blink couldn't stand it if he had to.

The other newsies were relieved to see that Blink was alive and were asking him questions in extremely fast and excited voices. It wasn't until Race appeared and forced everyone to leave Blink alone that I got to leave the mob as well. I had been trying to fight my way out of questions, but it was hard.

Once things settled down, Blink told them everything. I heard sighs of relief from everyone when they learned that Crutchy was alive and fighting. I myself sighed again in the same way I had when Blink and I had learned that he was going to be okay.

But then I became silent, remembering a friend of mine that hadn't been so lucky. He hadn't survived, and the same could have happened to Crutchy.

This boy's name was Patch, his real name was Adam. Patch was my best friend. We sold papes together and hung out at all times. I was 10 and so was he. Patch really had some type of charm that worked on costumers who came up to buy papes; he was perfect. I had the wit to bargain with some who would give us only a penny, and then he would step in and make them do so. I got a lot of nickels off of that, and so did he. We had gone into restaurants and other places to get money. Drunken men were always fun to tease with money. Even though we were young, we stood outside salons and waited for them to come out. Patch didn't mind my being a cripple at all.

But then one day, when he and I were out selling papes, I had run over to catch someone and turned to see an out-of-control carriage smash into the corner Patch was on. I saw the shards of glass flying and saw that one horrible piece hit him in the chest. The doctor took out the piece of glass, but the injury was too deep, and Patch didn't make it. I stayed with him all of that time, to the end.

If death had overtaken Crutchy, I would have been more devastated than when Patch died because I would have ended up with two deaths on my conscience and they would be there forever. There was no telling what would happen, just that death wasn't really a big concern for Crutchy now.

After a day of selling, the following one, I came home to find Blink standing in the doorway waiting for me, telling me that we were going back to the hospital. Mr. Downing had sent a kid over to say that we needed to be over there.

Blink looked worried, but I didn't think it could be anything serious, could it? Was it because we were to help Crutchy get back on his feet again or was it something else?

When we arrived, after running for blocks on end, we went up to Crutch's room. Blink and I went in, and there were no doctors in there. Crutchy was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, off in space, and Blink went over and sat down next to him.

"Hey Crutchy." he said.

"Hiya Blink, an' Micky." was Crutchy's reply.

"Dat man wanted us heah, what is it?" asked Blink.

"Dey wanna try ta run dat "test" 'gain."

"Ya mean dey still tink youse can walk?"

"Yeah, dat's what it sound like."

"Bu' how?" I asked.

"We'se gotta try." said Crutchy, smiling at me. I knew he was just trying to make me feel better, which was working. "Ise ain't gonna go nowhere in anyting."

"Well if ya gotta git a wheelchair, dere ain't notin' dat youse'll be able ta do. Ya won' be able ta work well." said Blink.

"Dey say dat Ise gonna get stuck in one, den Ise can work dis all out on me own wid youse. Jus' one more try, please, I ain't no one ta complain, bu' Ise ain't gonna be able ta live in a wheelchair all of me life." replied Crutchy, whose eyes were crying for help. Blink nodded.

"Come on." he said.

We lifted Crutchy up, and then repeated the same as before. Crutchy could still hardly walk. I was slightly scared for him, actually, I was terrified. He was right, he wouldn't survive in a wheelchair no matter how much it cost him.

But he wasn't really walking. His small steps were propelled by Blink, and he was collapsing at every other step. When we got him back to bed, he lay there in silence for a while, a long while.

"Ise ain't nevah gonna walk again, am I, Blink?" he asked. I saw Blink trying to stay calm.

"Of couse youse will. I ain't gonna let youse not. Ya gotta pull through dis. Youse are gonna." he said.

"If me leg stays like dis, den no, Blink, I ain't. Youse knows it as well as I do. Dere ain't no way a man can walk like dis. I gotta walk. I just gotta an' I ain't tryin' ta give up, it's jus'…." Crutchy swallowed, trailing off, and I saw tears go down his cheeks. Blink wasn't taking this calmly.

"Youse are gonna walk. Ya gotta. I'se gonna help youse as much as I can." he said.

"Yeah, youse ain't gonna give up now, are ya? Youse gotta lotta bravery an' I know youse are gonna walk." I said, trying to assist Blink's reasoning. "Dere are tings dat can help youse. We's gonna get dat leg back inta its oldself again."

We were silent for a few more minutes. Crutchy was trying to say positive, but I could tell that through all his smiles, there was a lot of pain. I wondered if he had let go of it all sometimes during the night, when no one was in that room to ask him questions or try and cheer him up. I would have if I were him, and I figured that this was the case. I just couldn't understand how much a person could hold if they were in pain and tired of being patronized and cared for.

Blink was talking to him quietly. I let them be. I didn't need to be in every one of their conversations. I gazed around, wondering what good doctors were if they couldn't do anything like save my friend's legs and maybe turn them around again. Or they could have saved Patch.

Author's Note: Alright, I will try to update another chapter as soon as I can. There is chapter thirteen, I hope you enjoyed! I will try to find a solution to Crutchy's lameness, if you have anything, give it to me, ideas are welcome! Thank you and please review, review, review!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note: Okay, first off, I want to address TeamJacob1998 for reviewing, thank you, and I'm only going to say this, I'm not a doctor and I really don't know what type of disease it actually was or how to make it all better without sounding like I'm just writing a story. I'll figure this out someway or other, trust me, and thanks for the medical help despite the fact that I'm probably not going to use it. I apologize, but I really don't know much about that stuff. Alright, anyways, moving on, here's chapter fourteen and I hope to see a little bit of improvement on Crutchy's part. It will happen, trust me. Now I'll get started!

We stayed with him that night. Blink spent most of it trying to convince Crutchy that he was going to walk again, and soon, but I could hear the doubt in his voice whenever he said this. I slept most of the night except the times that I woke up to the sound of sobbing or talking loudly. Both of them were letting go of a lot of emotions that I knew had been building up inside of them and I allowed them to do so without talking.

In the morning I was the only one awake as they had fallen asleep a few hours before. I looked around the room, wondering what I was going to be doing that day. Probably working with Crutchy again, but I didn't know. I began to wonder if the same surgery that I had gotten would work on him. I mean, if it worked on my legs, wouldn't it work on his?

When Blink finally woke up, he was the one to shake Crutchy awake. I confronted them with my thoughts the moment they were listening to me.

"Ya tink dat it would work?" asked Blink.

"Only on his good leg, da oder one ain't savable." I replied. Blink looked at Crutchy, who was nodding slowly.

"Yeah, dat woul' work." was his only comment. I saw the trusting look in Blink's eyes when he looked at me and I hoped that this would work.

Mr. Downing entered the room a few minutes after that, looking rather tired and anxious. I figured that being a doctor was hard work and meant that he had long hours like we did making money.

"Hello boys. Any news?" he asked.

"Well, ya know dat Micky was a crip once righ'?" asked Blink. "We figure' dat da same ting woul' work on Crutchy, jus' only wid his good leg."

"Ah, you mean leg surgery? Yes, we do have records on Micky's surgery, I indeed agree with you. But it is risky and I can't promise you that it will work." said Mr. Downing, nodding.

"Ise'll do it, sir, jus' tell me when I can." said Crutchy, basically pleading.

"Tomorrow, at the earliest. I think we can get an appointment for that. I do think it is possible. I'll consult my collegues today." he said, and walked out.

Not too long after, he re-entered with a few other men. He informed us that it would take place tomorrow and that Crutchy had to be ready, and then they left. Blink had an excited look on his face.

"Youse'll be walkin' in no time." he said to Crutchy, who nodded.

We spent the rest of the day there, talking and wondering, all of us were excited. Blink must've been really happy because I knew that he knew that it could work. I had gone through it before, and after they put me to sleep, I had felt nothing until I woke up. It wasn't that bad.

That night, I slept a lot better and in the morning, Mr. Downing came in to tell us that Crutchy was going to be taken downstairs and we were not permitted to follow. Blink only nodded and stayed quiet, I could feel his nervousness and his excitement. Crutchy was then taken downstairs and we were left in the empty room.

"Do ya tink it'll really work?" he asked me.

"Ise figure." I replied. He didn't say anything else, just sat there quietly.

"He'sll still be a crip, won' he?" he asked me.

"Yeah, bu' he'll walk."

"Dat's jus' what he needs. An' I ain't gonna be able ta wait all day." he said, and then motioned for me to follow him out.

We went outside, and I breathed in deeply. Just a few more days and Crutchy would be out of that room and out here with us. I couldn't wait.

Those days were fast. The surgery did work out, and Crutchy came back into that hospital room smiling through the pain that I knew he felt. Blink had stayed with him, I'd gone to the lodging house to grab that crutch that I knew would be needed soon enough.

Almost a week went by when soon, they told us he was free. Boy was I glad about that. Crutchy only ever would have a lame leg, but at least he could walk and didn't have two bad legs.

When we got outside that day when he was let out, I saw the brightest smile on his face in a long time.

"It's good ta be home." he said.

We walked back to the lodging house. Crutchy hobbled along and talked to me the entire time. It felt like we were starting some new chapter or something in our lives.

The lodging house was full of newsies as it was evening, and when we walked in, they circled around us, greeting Crutchy with grins and shouting. Even Kloppman was happy and I could see the grin on his face as he watched from the doorway.

Things finally settled down, and so did I, to the bed I had occupied beneath Bumlets for a while. This would be my last night in Manhattan for a while, and I knew it. I spent that night in a deep sleep.

That morning, I went out with Crutchy after saying goodbye to the others. We headed to the street corner on Central Park and as he sold papes, I talked to him. I would have to leave soon, but I didn't really want to.

"Ya know, dere ain't a place like dis in all of da Bronx like dis." I said.

"Dat's why youse are heah." he said, and I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Well, jus' remembah ta tell Checkers dat we'se say hi an' will be heah if he needs us." said Crutchy.

"Okay. See ya, Crutchy." I said. He returned the goodbye, and I walked off, looking back every once in a while as he became a smaller and smaller figure leaning on a crutch.

Author's Note: Alright, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that is the end! I hope you enjoyed! The reference of Micky's leg surgery can be found more out about in "So's the Bronx" if you want to know exactly what it was/is like (it's my creation)! Please vote on my profile page about what story you want me to write next! Thank you and please review, review, reivew!


End file.
